Photo By Staff Sgt. Andrea Merritt | U.S. Army Spc. Sasha Santiago, from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, a mortuary affairs...... read more read more
Subscribe
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – In Hollywood, people in professions that deal with the deceased are often portrayed as creeps in black clothing, oddball loners with morbid senses of humor, or forensic geniuses who help crack the case.
For members of the mortuary affairs team on Forward Operating Base Fenty, there is nothing Hollywood about their job. It is simply part of their commitment to never leave a fallen comrade.
“This job is a way to pay respect to our fallen heroes, bottom line,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ramon Acevedo, non-commissioned officer in charge of mortuary affairs for the 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
“I am responsible for the remains,” said Acevedo, a native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. “They gave their all for our freedom and to help put the family members at ease I do my part to get their loved one back to them.”
For most of his 14-year Army career, Acevedo worked an administrative job in the personnel field, but he decided five years ago to change his occupation to mortuary affairs.
During advanced individual training, Acevedo learned the basics of properly handling the remains and personal effects of the fallen, to include the process for preparing, preserving and shipping them home to their loved ones.
He also conducted follow-on training at a civilian morgue in Richmond, Va., before going to Dover Air Base to get more hands-on training.
“At Dover, we had to follow the remains of one specific hero through the entire process starting with the identification, the x-ray of the teeth, fingerprints, the full body CT scan, and the autopsy,” Acevedo explained.
Although Acevedo has deployed before, this is his first deployment as a mortuary affairs non-commissioned officer, and admits the thought of running the shop made him nervous.
“In [personnel], it was a different type of environment. The structure was really different,” Acevedo said. “There was specific guidance on how to do everything and then we would file it through an officer.”
“In [mortuary affairs] I’m on my own. I didn’t think I would be able to do it,” he continued. “I was the only one and the whole brigade was counting on me. I didn’t want to fail.”
Upon arriving in country, Acevedo reached out to the mortuary affairs staff at Bagram Air Field for guidance on how to run his shop effectively.
In addition to creating standard operating procedures, he also formed and trained two teams to aid in recovering and processing remains.
He was also fortunate enough to have another mortuary affairs specialist in his unit and since she was already familiar with the job, she was able to assist with the workload.
“I work with transportation vertical and construction air during the day scheduling flights and with mortuary affairs, I am on call,” explained U.S. Army Spc. Sasha Santiago, a Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, native.
Previously, Santiago served as an engineer, but decided to change her military occupational specialty to mortuary affairs a year ago.
“I wanted to do something different. They offered me other jobs, but nothing sounded interesting,” Santiago said. “When they offered me mortuary affairs it sounded cool like something you would see on CSI.”
“My perception has changed since taking this job,” Santiago continued. “I see a different side. It’s not something you laugh about, it’s about bringing closure to families and helping out your battle buddy.”
Primarily, the mortuary affairs team processes the remains of U.S. service members as well as Department of Defense contractors and civilians, third country nationals, and Afghan National Security Forces personnel who expire on the forward operating base.
Since the mortuary affairs shop on FOB Fenty is more of a transient station, the team’s primary duty is to document the condition of the remains, inventory personal effects, and to prepare the fallen for transport to Bagram Air Field.
As way to divide up the duties, Santiago is in charge of making sure all documentation is filled out properly and Acevedo ensures the remains are handled properly.
Although both Acevedo and Santiago are trained to deal with certain things they may see, there are times when the job can be difficult.
“So far, the hardest one is when I had to go through the pockets and inventory the personal effects and he had pictures of his family and kids,” Acevedo said.
As a father of two himself, this hit home for Acevedo; but it also served as affirmation that he chose the right job.
For both, Acevedo and Santiago, serving in the mortuary affairs field is a way for them to help bring closure to families who lose a loved one in combat and also a way to pay respect to the Soldiers who make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
“They gave their all to defend our way of life and we respect that,” Acevedo said. “We give our undivided attention to them by making sure everything is done right. We want to give closure to the families, that is the main goal.”
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2012 02:15 |
| Story ID: | 87282 |
| Location: | KUNAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 1,043 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Ultimate sacrifice deserves ultimate respect, by SSG Andrea Merritt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT